Powerhouse. In fact a power Mansion. And on the other side, power cottages. Small, never-growing powers like a mini-trailer. Something you can�t leave in the middle of the road. What does the government want? Who is the government? What does the opposition want? Who are the opposition? What do the people want? Yes, the last one was kind of easy. We all know who the people are! We know that they want respect, dignity, stability and the buzzword � Democracy.

Commotion within the PFDJ powerhouse. One seat bus, many aspiring drivers. The same route. No good. A primitive cart. Many are willing drivers. One conductor. Very good. But who carries whom? Can the new commotion deliver? You might as well ask �can the dry desert bloom?�. No, The current commotion would not deliver. Chances are, with hard work (and resting the guns), the dry desert could bloom easier. Even if not so soon. But the secluded commotion with the very narrow agenda is fearful of democracy. My forecast? Doomed to fail? A bail of water trying to put the raging fire off.  Raise havoc or put the fires off. The driver has to decide; the people have long decided: they want dignity, safeguarding their interests and to live in peace. They want to own their destiny. At one time or another, we have all dealt with a neighborhood bully. It is not fun.  

The master considers today�s roosters, the contenders to the powerhouse, yesterday�s chicks that hatched in his farm, a Bloomingdale owned by the master. The chicks are long subdued characters. Featherless yet flamboyant. Willingly tamed under the hazy shadow of big brother. People of deeds decreased to jawless creatures. Sad. Very sad. But wait a minute. A cat is believed to have seven lives. They are showing that cat instincts. They are starting a second life. Now they want to rebel and break loose and come under the sun. See light and show their reflection. Trying hard to show their colors. They yell, �look! We have vivid colors!�  Show us your colors. No one likes dull colors�. brighten it up big fellas.

The people. The owners of destiny, crushed to submission. Freedom, with wings broken. Rights buried deep under the ground. Precious lives treated as sacrificial lambs and carelessly offered on the altar to feed insatiable ego. Wanton destruction of expensively built brick and mortar. The bill is huge. The numbers are astounding. No cosmetic alterations will do. �Drastic� is the word of choice from the dictionary. It is in the minds of people who are supposed to be owners of their destiny. No false Teeth. No make-up. No disco Neon lights. No flattering shiny marbles. The result of the silent vote: Real change, real democracy. 

The people are adults; they refuse to be treated like adolescent. The people are owners; they refuse to be treated like beggars. Playing chess with the fate of a people is pathetic. Playing Russian roulette, with the lives of people, is disgusting. Come to your senses, will someone tell these people the nation is not a private estate. Come to your senses, will someone tell these people that the narrow club does not represent the whole of the country. Come to your senses don�t destroy what is left of your achievements.  Reach out, and clean your arrogant political culture. Reach out, and begin to act. Don�t shun the call for reconciliation. Wakeup, time is ticking on all of us. We lost enough time and we need to be thrifty in spending more time. Shun arrogance; don�t shun your people.

Commotion Of The "Learned�!

There was an Internet news commotion last week. Earlier, Gedab News had reported that Ambassador Hamid Himid was pushed to the deep-freezer. Few days later, a site called Arab News published somewhat similar news, not only confirming what Gedab reported, but adding that Mr. Himid was actually in Canada seeking refuge. The clever manipulators in Asmara brought Hamid Himid out from where they pushed him and made him do a small theatrical appearance at the Asmara Airport. A note from someone in Asmara started the commotion by discrediting the claim of Arab News, which stated that Hamid Himid was seeking refuge in Canada. By mischief, malice and stupid reasoning, some zealots started to associate the Arab News report with the Gedab News report. Maybe, there could be another theatrical maneuvering by the theater directors in Asmara in the future to discredit our news but nothing will change what happened.

The malicious crowd knew well that Gedab neither report that Mr. Himid was in Canada or Siberia nor that he was seeking refuge. Let the snowcap of mountain Everest melt down--we still stand by what we reported regarding the humiliating treatment that Mr. Himid received. Humiliating its own cadres when they start to show some independence or when they get out of the prescribed line, is the tradition religiously adhered to by the EPLF leadership.

The commotion went on when �a wise man� questioned the Arabic translation of the Tigrigna word �Mdskal� was �freeze�. His two tier logic went: 1) if the translation is wrong, then the Arab News source should be Awate.com. 2) If the word is properly translated and it exists in Arabic, then it is �I don�t know what it is! But if we are allowed to read between the lines, he was implying two things: 1) Condemn awate.com anyway because it dares to report embarrassing news about the �lords� in Asmara. 2) If the Arabs do it (freeze their officials) and they have a word for it, then what is the problem-- we are no less cruel than them and we can deep-freeze anyone at will.

The commotion didn�t end there. It somehow led to the claim that the human rights record in Eritrea was better than, America and many countries in Europe�this is no joke, some learned person really claimed that. Rejoice compatriots, according to some learned Eritreans, our government�s human rights record is spotless clean and shinning to the extent that it blind the eyes�that can be taken literally. We are in safe hands. We are even better than the Swiss who know nothing other than making watches and putting holes in their cheese. In Eritrea, there is cable TV inside the jail. There is a post office catering to their correspondence needs. They get the best lawyers and guards (their friends, as put by the Justice Minister some years ago). Isn�t this depressing? I envy those who believe there are no political prisoners in Eritrea. I also envy those who can send their conscience on vacation indefinitely. Moreover, I envy those who do not know anyone in jail. I envy the Rip Van Winkles of Eritrea. Depressing. Very depressing.

The Haile Sellassie system, would not flinch in razing whole villages to the ground and kill all its population. Yet, it allowed visiting rights to those who were saved from its death squads. Then there are living witnesses who had first hand experience visiting their fathers and brothers in Haile Sellassie�s prisons when they were jailed for political reasons accused of being �shifta�. That unjust justice system was not good enough for the free spirited and dignified Eritrean. The Eritrean person rebelled and fought with determination to improve justice by leaps and be the owner of his destiny. He ended up in a situation where his own brothers are denying his existence in the world and his existence in their jails. What is to be made of these denials?

Again The Sudan

Reports flying around the Eritro-Sudanese border are disturbing. Karakon is again the site of a new confrontation and intrigue. The ELF of twenty years ago was militarily finished in Karakon and Tahadai. Today, Karakon is said to be under the control of John Garang�s forces�of course coming from Eritrea!  When the wrench is twisted until it cannot move anymore, either the wrench or the nut breaks. Always a three dimensional confrontation. When the ELF, the mighty ELF of the sixties and seventies, was militarily finished, there was the ELF, the TPLF and the EPLF. Today, there is the NIF, the PFDJ and the SPLA. . A three-card game is the best fortuneteller. And for the betterment of the region, always comes with a spell.   

No hiding it this time. We are deep to our knees in the Sudanese turmoil. �Unlike three years ago when the war with Ethiopia started, today we have more sophisticated armaments, a live air force and a well-trained army�, Yemane had said in his recent meeting in Oakland. His tone replying to question regarding the Eritro-Sudanese relations was scary. In his speech, one could read a crisis in the boiling. What next? Where are we heading?

the awate team